Samajwadi Party Drops Sitting MP ST Hasan From Moradabad, Mohibullah Nadvi Gets Ticket From Rampur

SP has also fielded Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi, the Imam of Parliament Street Mosque in Delhi, from the Rampur Lok Sabha seat. 

File photo of ST Hasan and Mohibullah Nadvi.

The Samajwadi Party on Wednesday dropped ST Hasan from the Moradabad Lok Sabha constituency and replaced the sitting MP with Ruchi Vira. SP has also fielded Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi, the Imam of Parliament Street Mosque in Delhi, from the Rampur Lok Sabha seat. 

The two candidates from Rampur and Moradabad seats filed nomination as the SP candidates. Samajwadi Party's national spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI that Hasan's ticket has been cancelled from Moradabad. In his place, former Bijnor MLA Ruchi Veera has been made the party candidate. 

On her nomination from the Moradabad constituency, Samajwadi Party leader Ruchi Vira said, "What should I say? All of you should congratulate me (for filing the nomination)... I have filed my nomination from the Samajwadi Party... You should speak to the returning officer and party officials regarding the rules... I want to thank the National President of the party."

Maulana Mohibullah Nadvi, who filed his nomination from the Rampur constituency in Uttar Pradesh, said, "SP president Akhilesh Yadav ji has sent me. Azam Khan is also my sympathiser and I pray for him. I have filed my nomination from the Samajwadi Party and I have also got the cycle symbol." 

The development comes as two Samajwadi Party candidates filed their nominations from both Rampur and Morababad.

In Rampur, Asim Raja, who had contested the 2022 Lok Sabha byelection as an SP candidate, filed his nomination papers claiming himself to be the party candidate. Mohibulla Nadvi also filed his nominations claiming to be the authorised SP candidate.

Meanwhile in Moradabad, SP leader Ruchi Veera filed the nomination papers as an SP candidate while sitting MP ST Hasan had filed his nomination on Tuesday.

Today was the last day of filing of nomination for the elections of Rampur and Moradabad Lok Sabha seats. The nomination papers will be scrutinised on Thursday while the last date for withdrawal of nominations is March 30.

Both Rampur and Moradabad are going to polls in the first phase of elections on April 19, and Wednesday was the last date for filing of nomination papers.

While Moradabad seat was won by the SP last time, the saffron party had bagged the Rampur seat in the byelection after Azam Khan was disqualified following a court order convicting him for more than two years in a kidnapping case.